Title 43, Public LandsRelease 119-110
§1721 Conveyances of Public Lands to States, Local Governments, Etc.
Title 43 › CHAPTER 35 — FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT › SUBCHAPTER II — LAND USE PLANNING AND LAND ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION › § 1721
Summary
Allows the Secretary of the Interior to give or sell islands and other public lands that were left out of old surveys to States or local governments under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, while ignoring the usual size limits in that Act. Islands can be transferred without a land survey unless the State or local government asks for one and provides money or services for it, which the Secretary accepts. Any survey must follow rules set by the Bureau of Land Management and must be approved before transfer. Other omitted lands must be surveyed before transfer, but the prospective recipient may pay for that survey under the same conditions. The Secretary can sell omitted land to a person who lived on and developed it for the five-year period before January 1, 1975, if the Secretary finds doing so is clearly in the public interest. Such sales must be for at least the land’s fair market value plus administrative costs (survey, appraisal, and transfer). Transfers must fit state and local land-use plans and be cleared by local planning agencies. These rules do not apply to lands inside the National Forest, National Park, National Wildlife Refuge, or Wild and Scenic Rivers systems, and they do not override older specific laws from December 22, 1928, or May 31, 1962.
Full Legal Text
Title 43, §1721
Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Unsurveyed islands; authorization and limitations on authority
The Secretary is authorized to convey to States or their political subdivisions under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (44 Stat. 741 as amended; 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.), as amended, but without regard to the acreage limitations contained therein, unsurveyed islands determined by the Secretary to be public lands of the United States. The conveyance of any such island may be made without survey: Provided, however, That such island may be surveyed at the request of the applicant State or its political subdivision if such State or subdivision donates money or services to the Secretary for such survey, the Secretary accepts such money or services, and such services are conducted pursuant to criteria established by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. Any such island so surveyed shall not be conveyed without approval of such survey by the Secretary prior to the conveyance.
(b)Omitted lands; authorization and limitations on authority
(1)The Secretary is authorized to convey to States and their political subdivisions under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act [43 U.S.C. 869 to 869–4], but without regard to the acreage limitations contained therein, lands other than islands determined by him after survey to be public lands of the United States erroneously or fraudulently omitted from the original surveys (hereinafter referred to as “omitted lands”). Any such conveyance shall not be made without a survey: Provided, That the prospective recipient may donate money or services to the Secretary for the surveying necessary prior to conveyance if the Secretary accepts such money or services, such services are conducted pursuant to criteria established by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and such survey is approved by the Secretary prior to the conveyance.
(2)The Secretary is authorized to convey to the occupant of any omitted lands which, after survey, are found to have been occupied and developed for a five-year period prior to January 1, 1975, if the Secretary determines that such conveyance is in the public interest and will serve objectives which outweigh all public objectives and values which would be served by retaining such lands in Federal ownership. Conveyance under this subparagraph shall be made at not less than the fair market value of the land, as determined by the Secretary, and upon payment in addition of administrative costs, including the cost of making the survey, the cost of appraisal, and the cost of making the conveyance.
(c)Conformity with land use plans and programs and coordination with State and local governments of conveyances
(1)No conveyance shall be made pursuant to this section until the relevant State government, local government, and areawide planning agency designated pursuant to section 204 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 1255, 1262) [42 U.S.C. 3334] and/or section 6506 of title 31 have notified the Secretary as to the consistency of such conveyance with applicable State and local government land use plans and programs.
(2)The provisions of section 1720 of this title shall be applicable to all conveyances under this section.
(d)Applicability of other statutory requirements for authorized use of conveyed lands
The final sentence of section 1(c) of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act [43 U.S.C. 869(c)] shall not be applicable to conveyances under this section.
(e)Limitations on uses of conveyed lands
No conveyance pursuant to this section shall be used as the basis for determining the baseline between Federal and State ownership, the boundary of any State for purposes of determining the extent of a State’s submerged lands or the line of demarcation of Federal jurisdiction, or any similar or related purpose.
(f)Applicability to lands within National Forest System, National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, and National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any lands within the National Forest System, defined in the Act of August 17, 1974 (88 Stat. 476; 16 U.S.C. 1601), the National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
(g)Applicability to other statutory provisions authorizing sale of specific omitted lands
Nothing in this section shall supersede the provisions of the Act of December 22, 1928 (45 Stat. 1069; 43 U.S.C. 1068), as amended, and the Act of May 31, 1962 (76 Stat. 89), or any other Act authorizing the sale of specific omitted lands.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Recreation and Public Purposes Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b)(1), is act June 14, 1926, ch. 578, 44 Stat. 741, which is classified to sections 869 to 869–4 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 869 of this title and Tables. Act of August 17, 1974 (88 Stat. 476; 16 U.S.C. 1601), referred to in subsec. (f), is Pub. L. 93–378, Aug. 17, 1974, 88 Stat. 476, known as the Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 1600 et seq.) chapter 36 of Title 16, Conservation. The provisions of such Act defining the lands within the National Forest System are set out in section 1609 of Title 16. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 1600 of Title 16 and Tables. Act of
December 22, 1928 (45 Stat. 1069; 43 U.S.C. 1068), as amended, referred to in subsec. (g), is act Dec. 22, 1928, ch. 47, 45 Stat. 1069, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 25A (§ 1068 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Act of
May 31, 1962, referred to in subsec. (g), is Pub. L. 87–469,
May 31, 1962, 76 Stat. 89, which is not classified to the Code. Codification In subsec. (c)(1), “section 6506 of title 31” substituted for “title IV of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968 (82 Stat. 1098, 1103–4) [42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.]” on authority of Pub. L. 97–258, § 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1067, the first section of which enacted Title 31, Money and Finance.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
43 U.S.C. § 1721
Title 43, Public Lands
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110